The XDA developer community has been ever active with regards to bringing features from one devices to the rest of the pack. Popular XDA developer, xpirt, has done something similar today by bringing the HTC BlinkFeed app to all Android 4.4 running devices. Read more

As usual, the boys over at CyanogenMod are keeping busy working on making your Android experience the best it can be. Recall at the Big Android BBQ 2013 event, the team announced that they’ll be offering their popular custom ROM’s in a couple of different flavors. The team was pretty bent on arguing the fact that it’s not the carriers who should be dictating software based decisions to OEM’s but that it should be left to the user to do so. As a result, the team revealed that their new versions will cater respectively to both the beginner and the advanced user who’s looking to liven their devices up a bit.

The team tossed out some pretty hefty stats claiming that there are 8.2 million active CyanogenMod users out there and there are 38 million downloads for over 100 different devices. In addition, the popular custom ROM maker says there are over 3,000 different contributors assisting with development. So, what’s the difference between the two versions? Hit the break to compare the “Community” and the “Pro” versions and feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below. Read more

Android users who are running CyanogenMod 10 or CyanogenMod 10.1, and probably many other custom ROMs, looking to clean up their device’s display by getting rid of the notification bar now have an option to achieve that goal. Best of all, the solution ensures the user can still swipe down from the top edge of the screen to get access to their notifications. This feat was accomplished by XDA Developers forum member enryea123 through some tweaks to the SystemUI.apk and framework-res.apk files. According to enryea123, this solution will eliminate the ability to pull down the notification bar from the lockscreen. All of the changes can be undone just by restoring the stock apk files.

The guide that walks you through the process can be accessed on the XDA forums using the source link below.

Much has been said about the HTC One X‘s supposedly outstanding camera, and we’ve seen amazing photographs from it as well as some mediocre ones. It seems the camera can take exceptional images in the right conditions but some of the built-in limitations may be holding it back from true greatness.

Enter the HQ Camera For One X mod. This tweaked camera, by XDA member NODO-GT, removes these limitations, unlocking the camera’s true potential. What limitations are we talking about?

For one, the stock software limits 1080p video compression to a maximum of 10Mbps. This mod raises that to 20Mbps, meaning video will look much sharper and contain less compression artifacts. Photographs can also now be taken with zero compression, generating larger, and much sharper looking JPEG files. To accommodate for the larger file sizes, the mod also removes any image size limitations that existed in the stock software.

This mod was in open beta, but due to some reports of crashes and bugs, the download link has been removed and the developer is asking for private testers. Installing it requires an unlocked and rooted One X. The developer says a version for the One S should be available soon.

This is the second useful mod we’ve seen for the One X, with the first being the fix for the battery issue. Great to see the mod community going full-force on HTC’s new flagship. Hopefully, some of these improvements can make their way in to HTC’s official updates in the future.

If you are running Ice Cream Sandwich on your HTCSensation and are a bit sad by the quality of the photos or videos you take, then have I got a bit of news for you. If you’re wanting to take pictures that are unsurpassed in quality then you should check out the HQ Camera mod. This mod, created by XDA member NODO-GT, will give you the ability to record uncompressed videos as well as uncompressed audio. He’s also made photos look better too. It also has the following features:

1080p Video Recording in 20mbps!

Increased Video Recording Quality

Rebuild Camera App with 0 Compression For Better Performance

0 Compression on JPG Images.

Increase size cap of Images.

Improved Quality of Images.

Added Experimental 1250 ISO mode (Thank to krogoth)

This camera app rebuild makes your device capable of shooting videos at 20MB/s. He’s currently working on 720p mode as well as releasing a very high bit rate version for recording video at 40 MB/s. So if you’re interested hit the break below to get your download link. It’s always recommended to check out the forum thread for further details to see if there are quirks or bugs. Once you flash this in recovery turn auto focus off and set sharpness to -1 and you’ll notice a difference. Don’t believe me? Well we have a before and after shot after the break that should help convince you. Enjoy!

Want to make your Galaxy Nexus screen appear even bigger than it already is? Then you need to check out this awesome mod created by Rootz Wiki member CurrentWeb. What he has done is create a flashable .zip file that will trick your ROM into thinking your GNex is actually a tablet. This means that instead of having the typical status bar up top and the navigation bar at the bottom of your screen, you will now have the exact same layout as any Android tablet. The nav buttons and status bar will be moved to the bottom, your app drawer and Google search will be up top, and you will have more room to place apps on your home screens. It seems that this would make more sense in landscape mode but actually looks pretty good in portrait mode, too.

There is already a large list of compatible ROMS and the developer plans to keep adding to it. If you are running any of the more popular ICS ROMS right now you will be pleased to see that it is most likely already supported. All it requires is a simple flash over your current ROM and your up and running in tablet mode! The developer is even working on some sort of toggle so that the mod can be turned on or off with a simple reboot. I don’t know about you but I think this is a pretty sweet idea and may give it a go later today barring any major user reported issues. As it stands right now, some ROMs are having a few issues but the dev is looking into all reported problems. If you’re ready to check it out for yourself hit up the source link below.

OK guys, I finally got around to creating this how-to video on getting your ASUS Transformer Prime all ready for modding! In this video you will find directions on how to root, unlock, and flash ClockworkMod Recovery to your tablet. This all-in-one tool, ViperMod PrimeTime v4.5, will do everything I just mentioned and can even unroot your Prime in case you need to send it in for service. This tool works on any version of ICS, and will even work on Honeycomb. For those of you OG Transformer owners, you can even use the root tool as well but do not try to flash recovery. Reports show that trying to flash recovery will bork your original Transformer (TF101).

Once rooted, you will not loose the ability to receive future OTA updates from ASUS, but it is highly reccomended to grab Voodoo OTA RootKeeper from the Android Market to prevent any future updates from breaking root. You can find the download link at the end of this post.

Big thanks to ViperBoy for creating this super easy tool, it’s by far the easiest method available for doing any or all of these steps. You don’t have to complete every step if you dont want (i.e. remain locked), and if you are already rooted or unlocked you can still use the tool’s other features as well. I will include brief instructions below, but for a more detailed walk-through refer to the video. You can also find the necissary download links at the end of this post. Ready? Lets get started! Read more

I am sure many of you are familiar with Dr.Dre’s Beats Audio line and that HTC bought exclusive rights to integrating the audio improvement software in their devices. I’ve heard people say that their HTC/Beats device provides a sound that is unmatched to other devices they have owned and I’ve also heard folks say the improvement isn’t even noticeable. While I am still on the fence on whether or not this software actually makes a noticeable difference, at the same time I have yet to couple the experience with a quality pair of headphones. Either way, the Beats Audio software is no longer tied to just HTC devices and is now flashable for non HTC owners to enjoy. Now you can be the judge on whether or not HTC spent their money wisely.

Since Beats Audio is nothing but software, thanks to XDA members fuss132 and willblake13, we now have an easy way to flash Beats Audio to any rooted device running a Gingerbread ROM. It’s pretty simple really, all you need to do is hit up the XDA link at the bottom of this post, download the .zip file, and flash through CWM. Not much to it. The real question is whether or not you will notice a difference. Although fuss132 takes a similar stance as I do and says “I think at some ponts beats audio is only a audio marketing strategie,” he also claims “The sounds will be more natural, playing with more clarity.” However contradicting that may sound, he includes some test results that clearly show that there is some level of improvement to be gained. So if you’re the flash-happy type of person I think you are, you should check it out and decide for yourself. Test results after the break.

Beat on my friends… Beat on

Update: It looks as though this didn’t bode well with someone (most likely HTC) and the thread has been removed from XDA already. If you have more insight please let me know, I am curious.

Last week we reported that the most recent Chrome Beta update broke compatibility for some custom Android 4.0 ROMs. The update proved to be beneficial on devices that are running stock ICS so I wanted to figure out a way to get it up and running on my rooted Galaxy Tab 10.1 running a CM9 kang. Apparently some of the custom ROMs have a build.id and display.id that reflect an Android version other than ICS even though they actually run Android 4.0. There is a simple workaround for this and I will give you a quick walk-through in the video below. Basically you will just need to make sure your build.id and display.id read IML74K.

If the thought of editing your build.prop file sounds daunting to you, maybe you should just wait until the developer updates the ROM in the future. If this sounds like something you can handle then check out the video and let us know in the comments if it worked and what ROM you are running. By the way, anything you do to your device is at your own risk, myself or Talk Android will not be held responsible for any problems you may encounter. Happy hacking! :-D

It seems that developers are becoming more and more interested in bringing the Android operating system to more devices than just smartphones, tablets and recently TV’s. You can also find car stereos that operate on a specialized version of the OS and even in a self contained, dual-core USB stick. Currently there is an open source project going on named, Android-x86, that aims to get Android up and running on your laptop or PC. People are already successfully running Android 3.2 Honeycomb on their computers via this new project.

Most people are reporting easier success with ASUS products and is as simple as downloading the Android ISO and by using UNetbootin you can install the image to a USB stick or SD card. Once complete, just throw that puppy in your computer and you can now run Honeycomb from the comfort of your desk or lap. Most hardware is fully functional, including Wi-Fi, and you can even download the Android Market and various apps. Jump past the cut to see some guy’s rather lengthy, sometimes comical, Youtube video showing Android 3.2 running on his Eee PC netbook. With the recent release of Android 4.0 I can only imagine that developers will soon try and climb that mountain as well. Super exciting!